Top Spring Training Stadiums

September 28, 1986|By Larry McCarthy of the Sentinel Staff

-- Holman Stadium, Vero Beach.

The spring home of the Los Angeles Dodgers is an airy place, with the seats close to the playing field. There are no outfield fences. Instead, a grassy, sloping bank encircles the outfield with palm trees sitting atop the bank. The whole Dodgertown complex is like a country club.

The Detroit Tigers train there. One of the stadium's best features is a huge parking lot on what were once the runways of an airfield -- and the parking is free. The stadium is roomy and the seats are close to the action on the field. It is one of the easiest stadiums in the state to get to, off of Interstate 4 or U.S. Highway 98.

The Boston Red Sox train in a park that has only a small portion of the grandstand covered by a roof. There is plenty of room to sit in the sun and enjoy spring training at a slow pace. There is also easy access to concession stands and plenty of parking space. The playing field is usually immaculately groomed. Parking-lot attendants, ticket sellers and ushers are among the most polite people in the state.

The park shared for several years by the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets is one of the newer stadiums in the state and gives you a feeling you are about to enter a major-league park during the regular season. There is ample parking and easy access. There are enough seats under a covered grandstand for those who shun the sun and plenty of seats in uncovered portions for those who want a tan. There are also several night games each spring.